Catalogue excerpts

We opened this booklet with the quote from Murray Moss because he encapsulates our mission as a company, which is to offer our clients unique glassware that is unrivalled in today‘s world for its subtlety and sophistication. There is no secret to how we create our crystal, just the dedication to and the knowledge about time-honoured methods where every detail is important. As a family business, we are able to combine the heritage of our craft with a contemporary design ethos. We take pride in the fact that our innovation is driven by our passion for our craft. The images in this booklet illustrate...

Our Crystal “The fascination about glass? – It is one of the oldest materials mankind understood to shape. Imagine: You melt some sand and look at the result.” Ted Muehling The technique of melting quartz sand and shaping objects of enduring cultural value dates back to the fourth century before Christ. The approach to the quality of glass we take foregranted today was slow and careful. Glass has always fascinated mankind. With its transparency, its unique shiny surface and its play with light and reflection, glass has properties otherwise only found in diamonds or rock crystal. This fascination...

“Incidentally: one is not suitable for everyone! Let each and everyone be happy with his or her individual choice and let’s take into account that everyone thinks their way is the right way.” Ludwig Lobmeyr,

Family – Company – Cultural History Lobmeyr is in its sixth generation as a family business today. A love of the material, the emotional relationship with the product and the commitment of personal energy defined our method of working from the beginning. In this context each generation leaves its trace. In 1823 Josef Lobmeyr senior founds the company in Vienna’s Weihburggasse and soon becomes Purveyor to the Imperial Court. Josef and Ludwig Lobmeyr (1855– 1917): Ludwig becomes the pioneer of Austrian/Bohemian crystal production and presents the company at the first World Fairs; in 1864 he is the...

Tradition of Renewal Though Lobmeyr continually focuses on the contemporary interpretation of glass, it has never stopped cultivating its heritage. The old inspires the new, traditional know-how facilitates innovation. An astute eye for new movements has always characterised Lobmeyr’s work. Designers give new impulses, at the same time the past is made available for today: our unique archive documents almost 200 years of activity and is not just a treasure trove of samples, but also a source of inspiration. However, our day-to-day work with crystal is the primary breeding ground for new ideas....

Wiener Werkstätte and Art Déco “… we should always avoid the pompous and continually strive towards a better material and a more accomplished construction. After all our life, insofar as it can be taken seriously, obtains dignity through simplicity, honesty and purity…” Josef Hoffmann, 1901 The friendship between Stefan Rath and Josef Hoffmann and the artists of the Wiener Werkstätte, led Lobmeyr into the eye of the new revolutionary movement in art and design in 1910. Compared to Historism, this was a totally “Modern Movement”. The shapes became geometric, often lighter, more reduced. Stefan...

Crystal Narratives The enforced shape of the “Alpha” set, which fits snugly into the hand, is inspired by a copper beaker from the Middle Ages on show at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. The copper beaker was, in turn, inspired by Islamic shapes. Despite this, the “Alpha Beaker” was very much a product of the 1950s, stackable and ideal for young families in the postwar period who were just setting up home and needed products that were both elegant and practical. In 1963 Lobmeyr was assigned to design the lighting of the new opera house in New York, the Met. The groundbreaking design by Hans...

Crystal is Living Light The crystal chandelier, a Baroque invention, has a 300year-old history of style and is still valid today. Regardless of where it shines, the chandelier contributes a discreet festivity and a sense of elegance. The crystal pendants on the chandelier had the purpose of increasing the source of light – then the candle – thus enabling large rooms to be illuminated. The so-called “fire” of a chandelier, the living combination of light source and cut glass, is still one of the special aesthetic attractions of the chandelier today. The crystal chandeliers by Lobmeyr date back...

Chandelier Manufacture Lobmeyr consciously opts for handcrafted finishing in its manufacture of chandeliers. Know-how passed on through generations and a rich archive – the chandelier workshop, for example, has over 10,000 cast models – allows the authentic recreation of every style of chandelier, while also being a source of endless possibilities for new ideas. The body of the chandelier and its supporting components is the frame. In our brasswelding workshop the middle column, chandelier arms, rings and other parts are constructed; all these elements are still bent and formed by hand. Old techniques...